Manchester Evening News, 7 January, 1961 page 7, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
A GIRL who hates illness and says she could never be a nurse in private life will play the nurse-receptionist in ABC’s new 60-minute crime series, “The Avengers”, which begins to-night. She is 23-year old Ingrid Hafner “born in London but with an Austrian father” who played a nurse in several episodes of Ian Hendry’s previous series, “Police Surgeon”. Ian Hendry was immediately signed for “The Avengers” when “Police Surgeon” ended its run and now plays the part of a doctor who is drawn into a crusade against crime by the murder of his fiancée. Patrick Macnee has a regular spot in the series as a professional crime-fighter.

Manchester Evening News, 14 January, 1961 page 7, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
Actor and director Peter Hammond, who directs ITV’s “The Avengers” describes a Chinese girl he introduces in to-night’s episode as “a challenge to Jacqui Chan”. She is Joyce Wong Chong, who plays one of the young ladies who frequent the Soho club headquarters of a race gang. Her partner is Carol White, the 17-year old blonde who two weeks ago starred in ITV’s “A Headful of Crocodiles”.

PATRICK MACNEE, dark and genial 38-year old cousin of David Niven, is another regular traveller across the Atlantic, and has an adventurous background which neatly fits the role of the undercover man he plays in the new Saturday crime series “The Avengers”.

“I’ve been a rolling stone all my life,” he says, “and though the thought of settling down is sometimes attractive I always seem to end up by moving on again.”

Macnee’s mother is a member of the Hastings family, the family of the Earls of Huntingdon, who claim Robin Hood as an ancestor.

His grandfather, Sir Daniel Macnee, as president of the Scottish Royal Academy, and his father, Daniel Macnee, moved southwards to Berkshire, where he became famous as racehorse trainer “Shrimp Macnee”.

“As a small boy, Patrick rode gallops with Gordon Richards and other celebrated jockeys, and he was bitterly disappointed when he became too tall to become a professional jockey.

He went to Eton, where his schoolmates included Ludovic Kennedy and Humphrey Lyttleton, and commanded a motor torpedo boat during the war.

His first big film part was with cousin David Niven in “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, in which he was required to cross the River Loire on horseback.

He tells me: “We spent six months on location, and I seemed to spend most of it in icy water.”

After a spell in the West End, he went out to Canada to appear in one TV play, and stayed for two years. After trips to London and New York, he spent four years in Hollywood, enjoying the climate in a house on Malibu Beach.

Says Macnee, “I’ve let it to a friend while I decide whether or not to stay on in England.”

TV Times, 3 February, 1961 page 5, Looking Around with John Gough: A ‘nurse’ again, John Gough, England.
INGRID HAFNER, who plays a nurse-receptionist to Ian Hendry’s doctor in The Avengers on Saturday, tells me she hates illness and could never be a nurse in private life. But this is the second time London-born Ingrid has played a nurse. She appeared as one with Ian Hendry in several episodes of Police Surgeon. Ingrid’s big interest is finding a London flat, as her home is in Somerset. “Living in London will mean giving up my pony,” she told me, “and will not leave me much time for any hobbies.”

Manchester Evening News, 4 February, 1961 page 7, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
In tonight’s episode of “The Avengers”, Ian Hendry and his comrades-in-arms against lawlessness go abroad for the first time – to the Caribbean Island of Pascala, where a politician’s beautiful daughter has been kidnapped.

TV Times, 10 March, 1961 page 1 and 8, Crime MD, Tim Aspinall, England.
March 18 saw the launch of the series nationally, with those regions which had not previously shown it jumping on board with Hot Snow. Brought to Book was shown on April 1. As the Daily Mirror had it: “The Avengers”, a British Crime Series, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee, already seen in the North, Midlands and Anglia, now comes to London, Southern, Wales and West” The showings converged on April 15 with Dance with Death.

TV Times, 10 March, 1961 page 4, Looking Around With John Gough: His Ancestor was an Avenger, John Gough, England.

Patrick Macnee, who is on the right of the TV Times cover with Ian Hendry and Ingrid Hafner, is much more of an avenger than his part in The Avengers implies. For Patrick tells me he is related to that classical avenger, Robin Hood. “My Mother,” says Patrick, “is a member of the Hastings family, the Earls of Huntingdon – and they, as everyone knows, claim Robin Hood as their ancestor.”

TV Times, 4 March, 1961 page 4, Looking Around With John Gough, John Gough, England. The filming of ‘Brought To Book’ (part of gossip column).

This new fortnightly skein made a patchy impression. As an opener, it failed to establish convincing motivation for the central character, and the careful realism of its settings and dialog threw into relief the trumped-up machinations of the plotting. David Keel (Ian Hendry), a young doctor, was suitably elated about the prospect of marrying his receptionist, Peggy (Catherine Woodville). Unknown to him a dope ring had delivered a packet of heroin to the surgery, making a mistake in the address. They tried unsuccessfully to snatch it back, and then decided to kill Peggy, who could have identified the gangster who had bought the snow. This they duly accomplished, and Keel decided to find the killers himself.

The trail led him to the apartment of a shady medico, who should have gotten the stuff in the first place, but he, too, had been murdered. Then a dubious character named Steed (Patrick Macnee) introduces himself, so that he could make contact with the gang. This worked, but Keel under Steed’s guidance told them he wasn’t doing business with them any more. So they decide to dispose of him as well. He was saved in the nick of time by the cops, and the instalment closed with the big boss undiscovered.

Trouble with the segment was that it didn’t clearly illuminated the purposes of the running characters. Keel just seemed a dope himself for falling for Steed’s advice without asking a few obvious questions. And Steed’s ambiguity as an undercover man with the gang, yet somehow on the side of the law, just didn’t make sense on this viewing.

Ian Hendry, who made his local television reputation in the “Police Surgeon” series, was sympathetic as the hero, and Patrick Macnee was dashing as his curious helper. There was some fine minor thesping, particularly from Moira Redmond as an addict looking for a fix and Murray Melvin and Godfrey Quigley as subordinate dope pedlars, and an equal amount of ham elsewhere in the cast.

Johnny Dankworth provided a monotonous jazz theme, which should drive a good few to a fix before the skein is through, and Don Leaver’s direction was sharp and crisp.”

Daily Mirror, 15 April, 1961 Photo Caption
Pauline Shepherd, 22, who made her TV debut at sixteen as a singer in the BBC’s “Quite Contrary”, has a straight role tonight in ITV’s “The Avengers” (10.0). “I play an instructress at a dancing school – and I nearly become a corpse in the bath”, she says. Pretty Pauline has now given up singing. Tonight will be her first TV appearance as an actress, “wish me luck”, she says.

Manchester Evening News, 15 April, 1961 page 7, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
Two bookmakers’ daughters appear in to-night’s episode of “The Avengers”, which is set in the tough and often backbiting world of ballroom dancing. One is Pauline Shepherd, 22-year-old former model and fashion writer, who plays one of the instructresses and is the object of an attempted murder while taking a bath. The other, 20-year old Angela Douglas, has been in show business since she was 12 and has appeared in many TV series. She turned up in “Coronation Street” as a striptease dancer.

TWO young actresses I talked to are both daughters of bookmakers and both have been given parts in The Avengers series. They are 22-year-old Pauline Shepherd and 20-year-old Angela Douglas. Pauline told me: “I have never helped my father in his business, but I have brought him a few clients. They’re great punters in show business, you know.” She has been a dancer and fashion model. Her latest enterprise is to start work on a film script. “It’s a comedy,” she said. “But it won’t be ready for years.” Angela Douglas tells me: “My father gives me tips – but the horses never win.”

TV Times, issue 291, 26 May, 1961 page 3, Viewerpoint: Letters page, England.
Dressing to kill. PATRICK MACNEE always has marvellous clothes, including shirts and ties, in The Avengers. Are they his own or from the set wardrobe? (MRS.) KAY PLATT, Sewall-highway, Bell Green, Coventry.
The programme’s wardrobe supervisor says: Patrick Macnee’s suits were specially made for him for his role in this series, and also bought his shirts and ties. Occasionally, however, he does wear some of his own clothes.

The Stage and Television Today, 13 July, 1961 page unknown, author unknown, England.
This is a review of the episode, ‘Double Danger’. “In this particular episode (July 8, 1961) the plot is reminiscent of a poor second feature with unrealistic gangster types, blonde hanger-on, and decent English chappie in hot pursuit of the criminals. Even the setting on the boat has been done for and the dialogue is like a primer for intending thriller-story writers.

Only there were no thrills, and the clichés thrown up in the ambling wake of the story should make the presenting company blush. Ian Hendry, stern and resolute, aided by Patrick Macnee, whose style suggests he might be better doing something on his own instead of playing a rather peculiar undercover man.

The plot does not even seem to try for reasonable credibility, which is a pity when an hour has been allocated to the task. Rather than cutting the story down to the exciting bone, an attempt seems to be made to fill out the hour slot.

TV Times, 28 July, 1961 page 6, Wolf Mankowitz’ A to Z of Television, Wolf Mankowitz, England.
A is for Avengers. This series features yet another young doctor (actor Ian Hendry) who combines the glamour of his profession with the attraction of the underworld in which he hunts following the murder of his fiancée – all of which makes a more exciting story than what might have happened if the lady had lived…

TV Times, 11 August, 1961 page 5, Gossip Column, author unknown, England.
THREE TIMES picked as Canada’s best TV actress, Katharine Blake appears in The Avengers next Saturday. She plays the part of a Mexican woman, Dr. Sandoval… etc etc.

Manchester Evening News, 19 August, 1961 page 5, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
THE AVENGERS, on ITV to-night, tells of the hunt for the makers of a poisoned cooking oil, which kills those who use it, and is an idea based on a true story. Ian Hendry stars.

Manchester Evening News, 2 September, 1961 page 5, Max North’s Telereview, ?, England.
Time off for a ‘secret agent’ – judging beauty queens. Dashing and debonair Patrick Macnee, who plays the sophisticated secret service agent with a way with women in “The Avengers” will need all his skill to-night. To-night’s episode, “Kill The King”, shows Macnee and his partner, Ian Hendry, in a tale of trouble which surrounds a visiting monarch in London. Macnee is trying hard to stop the monarch from being assassinated, and four beautiful but sinister women are doing their best to foil his efforts. But while this recorded episode is being televised on ITV, Macnee will be relaxing with a drink after an even more never-racking assignment. He is the chief judge of the bathing beauty contestants in the final edition of “Holiday Town Parade” which comes from Morecambe and is now a traditional sign that Summer is coming to an end. NOTE: HOLIDAY TOWN PARADE WAS ON ABC AT 6.15PM.